Sainsbury’s claimed the top spot yet again in service and availability – marking its third win in a row.
In a well-scoring week across the board – most retailers, including guests Aldi and Lidl, scored 60 or above – Sainsbury’s stood out from the pack with a total of 86.
The Bodmin store was clean and tidy throughout, from the litter-free car park to the organised fruit and veg section.
Team members were easy to find and helpful, and our shopper was even helped by one staff member who was off duty.
Finally, service on the till was excellent. The checkout assistant was friendly and chatted to our shopper, wishing him a “wonderful Sunday” as he left.
Availability was strong: just one item was out of stock, the chicken mini fillets. That reflected a well-stocked store overall, with just a few gaps in the ready meal section.
Waitrose Poole came a close second with 85 points. The store had an intuitive and logical layout and the fresh produce was nicely presented.
The fish, meat and deli counters were singled out for their presentation – especially the fish counter, where the salmon had been arranged in a wheel shape next to “some delicious-looking oysters”.
The store also scored well on availability: only the Pepsi Max was out of stock.
Third-placed Tesco Bordon scored 78 points. Shop floor service was a high point for the branch. Each aisle had at least one staff member present, and staff were all courteous and helpful when asked for help.
Availability was also fairly good, although four items were not stocked: the brie de meaux, lemon juice, Lynx body wash and San Miguel lager.
Next up was Asda’s store in Basingstoke with 67 points. Although there were several untidy clothes sale rails at the entrance, the rest of the store was tidy.
Shop floor staff were another plus point. They were helpful and polite, and well presented.
However, the checkout queues spilled into the aisles and our shopper had to wait four to five minutes to be served. On the availability front, the Pepsi Max was out of stock and kiwis were not stocked.
Aldi Dereham came in fifth place with 61 points. The car park had no spaces left so our shopper had to park next door.
Shop floor service was fairly strong but the layout felt muddled, which meant our shopper had to go back and forth looking for items.
Three items were not stocked: the caddy liners, Flora Lighter and Heinz soup.
Lidl Rochdale followed close behind Aldi with 60 points.
The store was clean and tidy, but some veg items were not available and it seemed poorly stocked overall. On the plus side, a few staff were working hard to fill the shelves.
As with Aldi, there was some difficulty finding items. Our shopper noted the chillies were hard to find as they were on an end aisle and not very visible.
On availability, just the Domestos bleach and lemon juice were out of stock.
Last place went to Morrisons Stamford Hill with just 41 points. Shop floor service was incredibly poor – there were barely any staff around and none took our shopper to the items she needed.
On the checkout, the assistant made no attempt to engage with our shopper: “Literally scanned and took my money,” she said.
Availability was also poor, with two not-stocked items and four out of stocks: the chicken mini fillets, garlic baguettes, lemon juice and madeira cake.
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